{God’s Promises: A Rainbow & A Broken Helmet}

If I am being honest, last week I was struggling to trust God’s plan. I felt discouraged and frustrated, and doubt slowly began to creep in.

Throughout last week, I was struggling to find the right words to say/pray, and my heart just felt so defeated. Have any of you ever felt like that? I would go to Beaver Stadium to pray, (something I do each morning before work to pray for Brandon, his teammates, and coaches) and after about a minute of praying, find that I was out of words. I knew what I wanted to say, but my mouth just couldn’t speak the right words.

As I was sitting in my car on Wednesday at the stadium praying, I felt so discouraged. I whispered aloud “God, please encourage my heart today and give me something to cling to.” And when I looked up, it started to rain for 15 seconds, and out of nowhere, a rainbow appeared over top of the stadium that lasted for about 10 seconds, then it was all gone, back to being a sunny day out.

In that moment, all I could do was sit there and smile because I knew that God was speaking clearly to me, reminding my heart of His faithful promises. Anyone that knows the bible knows that the rainbow is God’s sign of His promise to us.

Let’s be honest, we all have these moments. Life isn’t always perfect and we aren’t always joyful or grateful. We can’t always find the words to say or pray, and we don’t always have thankfulness and praise on our lips. And guess what, that’s okay. Life happens, and sometimes our current situations take a toll on us not just physically but emotionally and spiritually as well.

But, the one thing I learned last week is this: Our current mood or bad attitude doesn’t change God’s plan. Just because I lacked faith, or was struggling to be grateful, that doesn’t mean that God is going to get mad and give up on me.

In the still small moment sitting alone in my car, the Lord whispered to my heart to keep holding on, and trust Him with the future. He is so faithful to give me a glimpse into his promises, and to physically remind my heart of his promises through a rainbow.

This past weekend, I believe I saw another glimpse into God’s promises being fulfilled. During the second half of the Purdue game, Brandon went in for his teammate after his helmet broke. What shouldn’t have been Brandon on the field lead to him making an interception and 22 yard run, allowing PSU to score a touchdown. It was crazy, yet amazing. Sitting in the stands watching this play take place, my heart was filled with so much joy and peace. In that moment, I was reminded of the rainbow. God doesn’t break His promises to His children. He has great things planned for Brandon, but He requires our obedience and trust in Him every step of the way.

When situations get tough, or things don’t go exactly as we had hoped, it is so easy for us to want to give up on God, and completely doubt His plan for our lives. Yet it is in those moments when our faith should be the strongest. It is easy to be full of faith and say that we trust God’s plan when things are going well for us, but when the storm hits, and things get bad quickly, our true faith and trust will be shown.

According to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, they define the noun trust as the following:

TRUST: a). belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc; the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.

To trust God means that we believe that He IS reliable, good, and honest; that we rely on His character, His ability, His strength, and on His truth.

I don’t know anyone or anything in this world that is more reliable, honest, or true than HIM.

He knows all, sees all, and is in control of EVERYTHING in this world. How can we not trust a God like that? If trust is a belief in something that is reliable and good and honest… well I know this much to be true: You will NEVER find anyone or anything in this life that is more honest, reliable, and good than HIM.

Trust Him.

To trust God means that we expect and believe with hope, faith and certainty that HE can and WILL do what we ask of Him.

Why is it that we find it easy to trust in things of this world than to trust in Him? Why do we put our trust in our economy, our leaders, our pastors, or our parents? Why do we trust our best friends, our spouses, our siblings, or our roommates, but can’t trust in the one who created us?

Have we forgotten who our God is?

This week, I am challenging myself and you all to not just speak the words, “I trust You, Lord” but to LIVE them. To not just make the word trust a noun, but to make it a verb, living out that trust each and every day of our lives.

Just like the Lord reminded my heart of His promises this past week with a rainbow and a broken helmet, I pray each of you will see and hear the Lord at work in your lives, reassuring your hearts of His promises for your future.

“Trust the Lord always, because the Lord, the Lord alone, is an everlasting rock”

2 responses to “{God’s Promises: A Rainbow & A Broken Helmet}”

Andrea: First off, I have been following Brandon’s career because of our Lewisburg connections and because my boys were always close with Charles and because I know both families and have kind of seen most of the Smith’s and Cole’s grow up since we moved to Lewisburg in 2001! This is a beautiful post; Your faith and trust in God is palpable and I know you guys are in the right place, with each other, with great families and great faith communities – Trust me, that will serve you well. When I first learned of the “broken helmet” , it made me hope that perhaps that was not an accident or a coincidence, but something that was put on Brandon to simply continue his “PSU Journey” – which has been so fascinating to see evolve. in many ways, I think of how Ryan Keiser was given an “opportunity” and how he seized it and used it to glorify God and be an example. What I see in Brandon is perseverance , dedication, passion, a dignified humility and groundedness and maturity and an obvious faith and an ability to “step out of one’s comfort zone” in his faith walk – In a way that reassures me and that makes me so proud and that helps me realize that how we do things is at times more important than what we do!! I am a Big Ten Network junkie and I was so excited to watch his recent segment , which points to my description of him above. In closing, I hope “all of my post comes through” as I am not that “techy” with my phone. I can see why Brandon describes you in such glowing terms!! Best wishes and good luck with this blog – I know it will help and inspire others ! And, Continued happiness in your marriage and future endeavors